This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119(a) on Patent Application No. 2000-299228 filed in Japan on Sep. 29, 2000, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel supply system for a vehicle, and more particularly to a fuel supply system for a vehicle having a fuel pump for press-sending a fuel.
2. Description of the Background Art
A conventional fuel supply system for a vehicle has a fuel pump for supplying a fuel to an internal combustion engine. The fuel pump is disposed in a fuel tank mounted on a vehicle body frame to effectively utilize a space around the vehicle body frame. Such a fuel supply system is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-93794. This fuel supply system is applied to a motorcycle in which a fuel pump is mounted in a fuel tank by securing a flange for mounting the fuel pump to a flat portion of the fuel tank.
However, the present inventors believe that the aforementioned fuel supply system suffers from the following problems. When the foregoing fuel supply system is applied to a saddle-type vehicle in which a fuel tank is mounted on a vehicle body frame in such a way that it sits astride a vehicle body frame in the direction of the width of a vehicle body, prospective fuel pump positions is limited. The position where a flange can be secured for mounting a fuel pump is limited to only the bottom surfaces along both sides of the vehicle body frame. Accordingly, the portion where the fuel tank is mounted is widened in the direction of width to increase the size of the fuel tank.
In order to avoid such a problem, the fuel pump could be mounted on a flat portion along a center portion of the fuel tank with respect to the direction of the width of the fuel tank. However, the center portion of the fuel tank is positioned above the vehicle body frame. If the fuel pump is mounted at this position, the top surface of the fuel pump needs to be elevated so as to avoid any interference with the operation of the fuel pump. Accordingly, the total height of the fuel tank would have to be increased to accommodate this change.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings associated with the background art and achieves other advantages not realized by the background art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply system for a vehicle in which a fuel pump can be mounted even in a saddle-type vehicle""s fuel tank with minimum modifications in size and shape.
These and other objects are accomplished by a fuel supply system for a vehicle, the system comprising a fuel tank positioned astride a vehicle body frame, the fuel tank having a side surface, a bottom surface and a top surface; a fuel pump disposed within the fuel tank, wherein the fuel pump is positioned along the side surface of the fuel tank and opposed to the vehicle body frame.
These and other objects are further accomplished by a saddle ridden vehicle including a vehicle body frame, a front fork mounted to a front portion of the vehicle body frame, a front wheel rotatably mounted on a lower portion of the front fork, a rear wheel rotatably mounted on an oscillating end of a rear fork, an engine, a main frame pipe disposed at a center of a top portion of the vehicle body frame, a vehicle saddle seat, and a fuel supply system, the fuel supply system comprising a fuel tank positioned astride the main frame pipe of the vehicle body frame, the fuel tank having at least a side surface, a bottom surface and a top surface; and a fuel pump disposed within the fuel tank, wherein the fuel pump is positioned along the side surface of the fuel tank and opposed to the vehicle body frame.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.